Forget towels on sunbeds – German fans take sofas to stadium to watch World Cup

Thursday night’s opening game drew a large crowd to the 1 FC Union stadium in Berlin (Picture: AP)

World Cup fans in Germany are combining the comforts of home with the excitement of big-screen viewing – after a stadium in Berlin encouraged them to bring their sofas to the ground to watch the big games in Brazil.

The home ground of second division side 1 FC Union Berlin has been turned into the country’s biggest front room after 780 sofas were registered for prime viewing spots for the tournament.

Gerald Ponesky, the man who came up with WM Wohnzimmer (World Cup living room) idea, said he came up with it by listening to fans singing.

‘It was something like “my home”, “my living room”, and somehow it clicked,’ he revealed.

The excitement of the Braxzl v Croatia match had fans in Berlin on the edge of their sofas (Picture: AP)

A crowd of 12,000 was expected for Thursday night’s opening game, which ended in a 3-1 win for hosts Brazil over Croatia, with 3,000 of those spectators enjoying the game from the comfort of their favourite seats.

To complete the effect, around 3500 square metres of wallpaper have been put up around the big screen, but there is one vital part of the match day experience that event organisers have yet to resolve; who gets to be in charge of the remote control.